Native Issues Online Summit

Join us for the Native Issues Online Summit – a unique and engaging virtual program designed to equip Native high school students with the tools and knowledge they need to become catalysts for change.

Close Up has partnered with American Indian tribes for over 30 years and is proud to offer programs that focus on issues important in Indian Country. Led by Close Up Instructors, students will build relationships with their peers and others, hear from young activists about strategies and models of advocacy and activism, deepen their understanding of community issues and their root causes, and work together to create meaningful solutions.

A generous grant from XTO Energy will enable MHA Nation youth access to this six-session series. XTO Energy is an ExxonMobil subsidiary, headquartered in Spring, TX. XTO is a leading oil and natural gas producer in the United States with expertise in developing tight gas, shale gas and unconventional oil resources. XTO or its affiliates operate in all major U.S. unconventional producing regions and Western Canada. They seek to have a positive impact in the communities in which they operate, seeking to understand, discuss and appropriately address any community concerns with their operations.

Over the course of seven 90-minute sessions, students will examine issues in their communities, nations, and the United States as a whole, and develop action plans to address those issues.  Highlights of the program include:

• Using Stories to Make Change
• Identifying Stakeholders
• Coalition Building, Organizing, and Activism
• Developing Action Plans
• Digital Presentations of Action Plans (Shark-Tank Style)

PROGRAM OVERVIEW >

This program is intended for grades 9-12 and can be integrated into an after school program, an advisory program, a club, or a leadership development opportunity like student council. Offered to groups of students or to individuals. Students will meet twice a week, for three weeks with the culmination action plan being a capstone, digitized presentation. During this time of social distancing, the series can also replace an experiential learning trip or a community service opportunity.

Program Dates: Monday and Wednesday afternoons, April 5-26, 2021

Program Time: 4:30pm-6:00pm (EST)

For questions about the program and how to register, please contact Cory Gassett at cgassett@closeup.org or (904)703-5887.

Participation in a Close Up program requires parent or guardian approval for any participants under 18 years of age.